au Australian TV star Charlotte Dawson found dead at home

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Australian TV star Charlotte Dawson found dead at home

 

The Australian television personality and presenter, Charlotte Dawson, has been found dead at her home in Sydney.

 

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the 47-year-old, who had a long history of depression.

 

Ms Dawson, a former model from New Zealand, was also a high-profile victim of cyber bullying.

 

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he was "shocked" and "saddened" by her death.

 

Ms Dawson was best known for hosting reality TV show The Contender Australia, and for her role as a judge on Australia's Next Top Model.

 

In 2012, Dawson was admitted to hospital after being targeted by cyber bullies on Twitter.

 

She went on to become an outspoken campaigner against internet trolls.

 

Ms Dawson, who left her native New Zealand at the age of 16 to pursue a modelling career, has been described by her friends as outrageous, outspoken and fragile.

 

Source: BBC News

[compl3x]

She received some pretty brutal bullying on twitter a while back. It's sad she gave up on her life. Even those whose struggles with depression are public and well known can end up killing themselves.

[FloatingFatMan]

Never really understood cyber bullying...  Normal bullying sure, it's hard to avoid as the people are in your face, but cyber bullying?  How hard really is it to just block people, or discard an email address, or just not go online?

[compl3x]

Never really understood cyber bullying...  Normal bullying sure, it's hard to avoid as the people are in your face, but cyber bullying?  How hard really is it to just block people, or discard an email address, or just not go online?

 

A lot of young people find themselves bullied at school and then cyber bullied when they get home.

 

Random trolls are probably easily blocked, but real-world people you deal with everyday might be a bit more difficult.

[DocM]

And some people can't emotionally handle the knowledge that friends, relatives, etc. will be reading horrible things about them - true or not. They get to the point they can't bring themselves to face them, even to deny it. This kind of bullying is quite insideous.

[TrueMonolith]

Guys,

She got "cyber bullied" for calling contestants on Australia's Next Top Model fat.

Particularly one that was a crowd favorite.

I really dont like how her death has changed the fact that she was an incredibly harsh individual on the show.

[TrueMonolith]

She also coined the term "mole" (to describe the Australian version of "chav" to a runner up contestant who was a bit of a "chav").

The contestant later spun that from derision to a term of pride.

She was basically the Simon Cowell of Top Model, and the hate she got online was based on that (and clearly understandable). The fact that she took her life is sad, but i think blaming "cyber bullying" is a bit of a stretch.

[compl3x]

She also coined the term "mole" (to describe the Australian version of "chav" to a runner up contestant who was a bit of a "chav").

 

 

 Mole is a very old slang term. She hardly coined it.

 

A point of contention is that Dawson as a judge on a modelling show dealing with young women was bully-ish. However, she never told anyone to go and kill themselves as so many on-line trolls suggested she should do. Baiting a person with mental illness to kill themselves is incredibly callous. Hell, telling anyone to kill themselves is heartless.

 

How much on-line trash talk/trolling contributed to her suicide is speculative. It may have had very little to do with it. It might have had a lot. Maybe somewhere in between.

[TrueMonolith]

 Mole is a very old slang term. She hardly coined it.

 

A point of contention is that Dawson as a judge on a modelling show dealing with young women was bully-ish. However, she never told anyone to go and kill themselves as so many on-line trolls suggested she should do. Baiting a person with mental illness to kill themselves is incredibly callous. Hell, telling anyone to kill themselves is heartless.

 

How much on-line trash talk/trolling contributed to her suicide is speculative. It may have had very little to do with it. It might have had a lot. Maybe somewhere in between.

Hang on, you're saying that calling models fat in an industry with so many people suffering from anorexia is somehow a different thing from trolls telling a manic depressant to kill herself?

Look, people are a mixture of good and bad, but i think we're ignoring WHY she became a hated individual. Its not as if the online trolls focused on her for no reason. I agree with your last statement though, maybe the trolls had an effect, maybe they didnt...

[compl3x]

Hang on, you're saying that calling models fat in an industry with so many people suffering from anorexia is somehow a different thing from trolls telling a manic depressant to kill herself?

Well, I don't know if she was manic depressive (i.e, bipolar). I am not privy to her personal mental diagnosis. But, yes, there is a difference there. The modelling industry is repulsive; Dawson was a part of it. However, it's not an industry which baits people into suicide. It is an entirely harmful industry, both for the models within it and women outside of it, but it doesn't tell people to kill themselves.

Trolls knew that Dawson suffered from depression and exploited it for amusement. That is indefensible.

Look, people are a mixture of good and bad, but i think we're ignoring WHY she became a hated individual. Its not as if the online trolls focused on her for no reason. I agree with your last statement though, maybe the trolls had an effect, maybe they didnt...

My understanding is that Dawson came to the defence of another women on twitter who was being bullied/harassed/insulted about a loved one who'd committed suicide. It had nothing to do with her judging in the modelling programme.

Admittedly, I'm not up on this ######; frankly I wouldn't waste my time following the likes of Dawson or her ilk's careers'. You're right, though, some people do suck. Some people are mean and vicious for no reason other that for their own amusement. That is bullying. Call me wacky, but I don't like bullies. I especially hate bullies who hone in on someone's mental illness and exploit it for their own amusement.

[Shiranui]

Mole is a very old slang term. She hardly coined it.

Hence "Kylie Mole" back in the late 80s?

[compl3x]

Hence "Kylie Mole" back in the late 80s?

 

"She goes, she goes, she goes."

 

Something like that.  :laugh:  

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

The most interesting thing in all of this is how her actions are being completely ignored and she's painted as an innocent party that was attacked for no reason, when in reality she was "giving as good as she got" (Who remembers when she called for somebodies death on twitter then claimed it was just a joke and people should have thicker skin)

Sure, there's an issue with the amount (You annoy 10 people and they respond at 10x what you said), but she was not an innocent party in this, which is why it's strange that she's being put forward by anti-bullying campaigners.

[compl3x]

(Who remembers when she called for somebodies death on twitter then claimed it was just a joke and people should have thicker skin)

 

Source? I'm not calling you a liar, I just didn't know about this.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Never really understood cyber bullying...  Normal bullying sure, it's hard to avoid as the people are in your face, but cyber bullying?  How hard really is it to just block people, or discard an email address, or just not go online?

 

It's just just like those unstable people who cry at the sight of a celebrity in person.

[Sandor]

Don't really know much but am I boiling it down correctly to say she was a bit of a dick and then when the bigger internet dick started smashing her teeth in she cracked?

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Source? I'm not calling you a liar, I just didn't know about this.

Look up "bryanboy", I've got a picture of her twitter feed but can't post it due to the swearing in it :laugh:

[The Evil Overlord]

Look up "bryanboy", I've got a picture of her twitter feed but can't post it due to the swearing in it :laugh:

ok, but of course you can, just warn the link has nsfw language..

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Behold, very mild swearing...

[Jase]

ah, feeding the trolls.. so this is what happens when you do.

 

meh. :/

[Athlonite]

well a trolls gotta eat may as well be Charlotte Dawson for dinner 

[FloatingFatMan]

well a trolls gotta eat may as well be Charlotte Dawson for dinner 

 

Although I didn't know the woman, I find posts like this to be incredibly bad taste.

 

Like her or not, know her or not, a young person's life has ended prematurely. That's always a sad thing and should not be ridiculed. :(

 

Shame on you.